Giedrė Žalaitė¹

¹ Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Academy of Medicine. Faculty of Medicine.

 

ABSTRACT

In the normal aging process older patients also have intercurrent illnesses, there is a significant number of the latter ones and it is increasing. According to the data of Lithuanian Department of Statistics, the number of elderly residents of 65 years of age and older reached 18.9 percent of all the population of Lithuania at the beginning of 2016 [1]. According to the data of the scientific research carried out, the most common illnesses occurring in old age are the diseases of the cardiovascular system (arterial hypertension, heart failure, ischaemic heart disease, etc.), diabetes mellitus, cancer, eye diseases, the diseases of the organs of movement – the spine and joints, diseases of lungs, cerebral diseases (stroke), and mental illnesses [2; 3; 4].
Prescription drugs are most commonly used to treat various illnesses of patients of geriatric age, but the number of the medication consumed is increased by pharmaceutical over-the-counter preparations [5]. The most commonly used medication listed includes medication for increased blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, for the nervous system, acting on the gastro-intestinal tract and the metabolism, for sleep disorders, joint pain and inflammation [6; 7; 8].
The pharmacokinetics and pharma-dynamics of the medication used changes in the old age, as well as the use of medication for several diseases results in polypharmacy, which can have impact on the interaction of medical preparations, cause more frequent adverse drug reactions, which may have mild forms, be serious and even lethal [9; 10; 11,12].

Keywords: polypharmacy, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics